SANTA CLARA — There is no game this weekend, but in other ways, this weekend will be much the same as usual for San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan.

The biggest difference, he said Thursday before embarking on his three-day weekend, is that he may be watching film on his laptop computer in his back yard rather than at the 49ers’ headquarters.

One of the things Nolan surely will be studying is the lack of productivity at tight end through the season’s first five games, four of them losses.

The 49ers have five receptions for 21 yards from tight ends Steve Bush, Billy Bajema and Trent Smith.

Last year, tight end Eric Johnson led the 49ers with 82 receptions for 825 yards, and through five games, he had 41 catches for 460 yards. But Johnson will not play this season because of a foot injury.

Nolan was reluctant this week to say precisely how the 49ers plan to get more production from their tight end in Johnson’s absence. But he did say it is something the coaching staff is working on.

“We’re doing some things in that area,” Nolan said. “We (have) three tight ends, and we’re trying to utilize all three instead of just two.”

To this point, most of the playing time has gone to Bush and Bajema. Nolan may be planning more action for Smith, who has been inactive in four of the five games.

In any event, quarterback Alex Smith sounded eager Thursday to get the tight ends more involved, even though he never threw to a tight end while running former coach Urban Meyer’s unorthodox offense at Utah.

“The more we can do, the more looks we have, if we can get the tight ends involved, it will help us,” Smith said.

FRESH FACE: The 49ers are hoping they found themselves a keeper when they claimed safety Jeremy Thornburg this week after he was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Thornburg, a 23-year-old Palm Springs native, made the Eagles’ 53-man roster out of training camp as a rookie free agent from Northern Arizona.

He was inactive for the season’s first four games, and the Eagles waived him last weekend because they needed to promote two defensive linemen from their practice squad for their game at Dallas. The Eagles had hoped to re-sign Thornburg to their practice squad or active roster.

“Coach (Andy) Reid told me he was holding his breath that I wouldn’t get picked up,” Thornburg said.

Thornburg’s job now is to learn the 49ers’ defensive system, because there is a real possibility he could be needed on a team that is lacking depth in its secondary.

Nolan said he has liked what he’s seen so far.

“He runs well, he covers ground, he understands the concepts,” Nolan said. “He’s a good young prospect.”

DEADLINE NEARS: The NFL’s trading deadline is Tuesday, but Nolan said he does not expect to make any moves.

“There have been some inquiries about certain guys, but I don’t anticipate it,” Nolan said.

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